On August 1, 2011, MSNBC announced that Hayes would host a two-hour morning show on Saturdays and Sundays, each going into depth on current issues.[3] The first airing of Up With Chris Hayes was September 17, 2011,[4] and featured a live interview with former speaker and current House minority leaderNancy Pelosi. On March 14, 2013, MSNBC announced that Hayes would begin broadcasting during the 8 p.m. weekdays slot on April 1. At 34 years old, he became the youngest host of a prime-time show on any of the country’s major cable news channels.[5]

From 2006 through 2007, Hayes was a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow at The Nation Institute,[9] and a contributing writer for The Nation. On November 1, 2007, The Nation named him its Washington, D.C. editor, succeeding David Corn. He is currently a senior editor at In These Times, a labor-focused monthly magazine based in Chicago.

He guest-hosted The Rachel Maddow Show in July 2010, while Maddow was traveling in Afghanistan and often filled in for Maddow when she was absent. Hayes has also hosted other MSNBC shows such as The Ed Show, Countdown With Keith Olbermann, and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. On November 5, 2010, MSNBC announced that Hayes would be filling in for Keith Olbermann during Olbermanns suspension. However, the network later backtracked after finding out that Hayes had also made political contributions—the issue over which Olbermann was being suspended.[12] Hayes credits Maddow with his becoming a host at MSNBC, saying, “I absolutely would not be doing this if it weren't for her.” [2]

On May 27, 2012, Memorial Day Weekend, Hayes made comments on air regarding the use of the word “heroism” as applied to American servicemen killed in action, stating, “I feel uncomfortable about the word because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate to justifications for more war. And I don’t want to obviously desecrate or disrespect memory of anyone that’s fallen, and obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism, you know, hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers, and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic. But maybe I’m wrong about that.”[13] His remark generated widespread controversy.[14][15][16] Hayes initially defended his comment by urging people to listen to what he had actually said,[17] Nonetheless, he apologized on his blog.[18] Furthermore, on his June 2, 2012, show, he devoted a discussion to his comments and the disconnect between civilians and the military.[19]

On March 14, 2013, MSNBC announced that Hayes would take over the time slot formerly hosted by Ed Schultz who would move to the weekends. According to The New York Times, the change was made in the hopes that MSNBC can win a wider audience than it did with Schultz. Hayes is said to transition better to The Rachel Maddow Show because he is seen as just as policy oriented as Maddow. “Chris has done an amazing job creating a franchise on weekend mornings,” said Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC. “He’s an extraordinary talent and has made a strong connection with our audience.”[20]